Razor blade sharpener



Dec. 25,1945. HELLER 2,391,701

RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed Oct. 19, 194;

INVENTOR fin /0 HELLER ATTORN EY Patented Dec. 25, 1945 UNITED STATESPATENT; OFFICE RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER David Heller, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application October 19, 1943, Serial No. 506,833

Claims.

This invention relates to devices for sharpening safety-razor blades.More particularly my invention is directed toward providing a highlyimproved construction for a device for sharpening safety-razor blades,preferably of thedoubleedge type, by the use of a hollow cylindricalmember of glass or other suitable material.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a safety-razor bladesharpener of the class described, in which a plurality of safety-razorblades, such as, for example, a Weeks supply of blades, may besimultaneously sharpened and left in position in the device until used,which is further characterized by the fact that th blades are maintainedin effective position for sharpening by the inherent flexibility of theblades themselves.

Another object of my invention is to provide a safety-razor bladesharpener of the class described which wil1 comprise relatively few andsimple parts, which shall be easy to assemble and relatively inexpensiveto manufacture and which, at the same time, shall represent a generalimprovement in the art.

Still other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparentin the following detailed description thereof.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a safetyrazor blade sharpenerconstructed and arranged in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the device shown in Fig. l, but with aportion of the outer wall broken way to disclose the interiorconstruction thereof and illustrating the manner of its use; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one-0f the parts of the device shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 4, removed and apart therefrom.

Referring now in detail to the drawing I have shown a safety-razor bladesharpener constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention andcomprising a hollow cylindrical member ID, preferably of glass, butwhich may be made of any other suitable material. It is noted that thesurrounding wall I 0a of the member I0 is tapered so that it is oflarger diameter at the top than at the bottom. Into the hollow of themember I0, I place a carrier member ll, having a flange I la at thebottom thereof adapted to rest upon the bottom lllb of the member In. Itis noted that the outer diameter of the flange Ila is less than theinside diameter of the adjacent surrounding wall Illa, so that the saidcarrier member H may be freely axially rotated within the container and,at certain times, freely slidably withdrawn therefrom. At certaincircumferentially spaced points the carrier member II is provided withvertically disposed channels l2 of any desired cross-sectional contourand extending inwardly from the outer surfac Nb of the carrier member IIfor a predetermined distance. Into each of the channels l2 there isfreely slidably received a longitudinal block l3 of similarcross-sectional contour to that of the said channels I2 so that theblocks 13 will be restricted in lateral displacement within the channelsI2.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing I have shown a detailed perspective view of oneof the blocks I3 completely removed from the carrier member Ii. It isnoted that on the face Illa of the block adjacent the wall Illa of themember [0, there is provided a raised ridge M of predetermined length,width and height, and designed to be received within the longitudinalslot of any standard type double-edged safety-razor blade; such as, forexample, the blade l5 shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing which has the usualslot 15a.

In assembling the device for use, each block I3 may be withdrawn fromits channel l2, as shown by the dot and dash line I3 in Fig. 4, and ablade l5, which it is desired to sharpen, is mounted on the block I3, byhaving the ridge I4 project through the slot I511. The block I3 is thenslidably replaced in its channel l2, as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of thedrawing. The front-toback dimension of each block I 3 is such that, whena blade I5 is mounted thereon and received within the hollow of themember ID, the said blade l5 will be caused to flex slightly so as toresiliently press against the surface of the member I0. It is notedthat, due to the fact that the blocks are substantially diametricallyarranged, the carrier member H may be resiliently maintained within thehollow of the member I 0, solely by and because of the flexing of theblades l5 as above described.

By the above described construction it is seen that the blades IE willresiliently adjust themselves so that there is no undue pressure put onany one of them and in that way a more even sharpening effect may beobtained.

When it is desired to sharpen the blades 15 it is merely necessary tooscillate the carrier member axially a number of times and any selectedblock l3 slidably withdrawn and the blade l5 removed therefrom for use.If desired, after the blades have been sharpened as above described theblocks I3 may be removed and the blades I5 thereon reversed so thatopposite sides of the cutting edges may be sharpened instead of only oneside.

It is also noted from the above described construction and operation ofmy device that the blocks I3 may be longitudinally reciprocated tosharpen the cutting edges of the blades I5 in a longitudinal directionin addition .to the sharpening in-a'"transverse direction caused by theaxial rotation of the carrier member I I. Thus a much finer cutting edgeis obtained on the blade.

To facilitate the withdrawal andeinsertionoof the blocks I3, each blockmay be provided with a gripping knob I6 of any well known design. ;It isalso noted that the surface. I3a of eachblock may be tapered tocorrespond to the taper of the wall Iila of the member II].

To facilitate the axial rotational oscillatory movement of themember- IIused to'sharperr the blades, the said member IImay-be provided with anupwardly projecting finger gripping portion it of reduced diameter;asclearly shown *in'the drawing.

If it is desired toprovide' a safeguard against the-undesired withdrawalor fallingout of the carrier member I I; such-as; for example, when allofthe blocks are removed 'therefrom',I' may-provide the followingconstruction:

-Gn the=-inner-surface-ofthe-wall Marci the member I ii, I'provide acircumferential groove I! designedto receive, therein? a resiliently:expanding ring it-of. any-wellknown type; suitable. The

groove I l" and; ring I 8, are disposed slightly; above the flangeIla'andthushold' themember' II in place. To'remove' the member. I Iforany'desired -reasonit-is'tmerelyynecessary to exert apiilling forcesu'ificienttoovercome the resilience. of the so thatlmay provideseven-blocks I3, toprovide one razor for each day in the week-andso thatthe user will not become confusedand-repeatedly take the same razor. Tothis end I-mark' on" the carrier member I I suitable"indiciaadjacenteach block :3: todesignate-the days-or the *weekpasclearly-shown in'FigL'Z of the drawing.

I have-found that good results are obtained whenthe carriermember I Iand-the:blo'cks l3 aremade of Wood'or plasti but they"may".be

made of any other desired suitable material.

While' I have described 'thepreferredconstruction and operationof--a-razor-b.lade=sharpening device under this invention, I am. awarethatnumerou changes-may beeffected without departing from the spiritofmyinventionarid" I:therefore do not wish to -be-understood-as limitingthe scope of my-claims by the positive terms employed in connection withthe description.

"Having described my 'inventionywhat ,I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a blade sharpener of the characterd'described, a hollowcylindrical-member acarrier member receivedwithin-said-hollow'member'and additionally'slidably movable-with respectto said axially relatively rotatable with respect to said hollow member,means for supporting a plurality of razor blades on said carrier memberin circumferentially spaced relationship and in such manner that thesaid blades will be caused to flex into frictional contact with theadjacent wall of the hollow member, said last named means comprising anindependent block for each blade, said blocks being mounted on saidcarrier member for rotationalmovement therewith; said blocks beingcarrier member in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of saidcarrier member so that a single :blade..-m ay be selectively removedwithout necessitating the withdrawal of said carrier member fromsaidcylinder member and without disturbingthe remaining. blades.

2. In a safety razor blade sharpener of the .character described, thecombination according to claim 1 inwhich each of said blocks is providedwith, a projection adapted tobe received in a cor- 'responding.openingof a blade toprevent'displacement of saidblade'during'thesharpeningprocspace ther'ebetween, aplurality'ofcircumferen- ,tially spaced channels extending inwardly'fromthe. side wall .of said carrier member; said channels beinetofpredetermined cross-sectional contour. and .disposed with their'axessubstantially parallel to the axis of said carrier member, a bladesupporting block slidably received in each channel, each ofsaid blocksbeing. of such cross-sectional:contour' with respect to the said contourof said channels as toholdzsaid blocks captive against lateraldisplacement in said channels and at the Sametime to permit axialsliding movement of said blocks with respect to said channels.

. 4. A safety razor blade sharpeneraccording to claim3'.in"'whi'chieach'of said'blocks projects slightly beyond the'side'Wall of said carrier'memher and into said free'space;.whereby'therazorblades to be sharpened mayxbefiexedfbetWeen said blocks and theinner'wall' of said-hollow cylindrical member,:and meansforholdinga.razor blade in effective sharpening position whilegsaid carrier memberis axialiy'rotate'd.

"5. A safety razorblade sharpener according to claim 3 in which each of.said' blocksyprojects slightly beyond the side wall of saidcarriermemher and into said free space, :whereby the razor blades to besharpened maykbeiflexedpetween said blocks and the inner wall of saidhollow cylindrical member, means oneach of said. blocks for holding arazorbladein effective sharpening position while said carrier memberis'axially rotated, and in which means are provided for limitingtheoutward axial movement; of said carrier member with. respect tosaidhollow cylinder during-axial rotation thereof.

DAVID

